


Ace of Hearts, Heart of the Libero

by All_My_Characters_Are_Dead



Series: Ship KomoSaku With Me [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Ship them with me, canon compliant sort of?, during the national tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-01 14:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8627767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_My_Characters_Are_Dead/pseuds/All_My_Characters_Are_Dead
Summary: Komori didn't consider himself a particularly jealous or hateful person. He generally wasn't possessive, either. Because sure, Sakusa had a lot of fans, from the girls from their school who followed him in herds to the volleyball players who gasped over his spikes, but none of them really knew Sakusa. None of them were close enough to him to make Komori worry that Sakusa might leave him.Except one.Ushijima Wakatoshi.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A_Sirens_Lullaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Sirens_Lullaby/gifts), [haikyuuliberos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuuliberos/gifts).



Komori didn't consider himself a particularly jealous or hateful person. He generally wasn't possessive, either. Because sure, Sakusa had a lot of fans, from the girls from their school who followed him in herds to the volleyball players who gasped over his spikes, but none of them really knew Sakusa. None of them were close enough to him to make Komori worry that Sakusa might leave him.

Except one.

One person whose name filled Komori with dread, because hearing it always made Sakusa light up like a child who had just been told he was getting his favorite treat. One person who only had to walk into the room to fill Komori’s heart with frustration and jealousy. One person who Sakusa called by his given name, when he didn't even use Komori’s. One person, who had come to watch their nationals matches, who Sakusa was currently following around, one hand clutching the back of that person’s shirt as he let that person lead him through the crowd.

Ushijima. Fucking. Wakatoshi.

Komori had thought he wouldn’t have to worry about Ushijima this time, since Shiratorizawa hadn’t made it to nationals, but apparently Ushijima and his middle blocker sidekick had decided to come and watch the tournament. Komori sighed and resigned himself to trailing after his boyfriend, since Sakusa had caught a glimpse of Ushijima and darted off to greet the wing spiker Komori definitely didn’t hate

“Isn’t it precious how Wakatoshi seems to open up a little around Sakusa?” Komori glanced at the speaker and blinked.

“Hello, Tendou. You know very well I don't find anything about your ace precious,” Komori grumbled.

“But from what I remember, you find plenty about your ace precious,” Tendou chirped. Komori gave the middle blocker his best satisfied grin.

“You're right. I do think he's precious, and he's mine,” Komori replied steadily.

“So you and the mask kid finally sorted things out, huh?” Tendou hummed. Komori nodded, unaware of how his satisfied smile became achingly fond as his gaze found Sakusa across the crowded gym again, then soured as he realized that Ushijima had positioned himself protectively between Sakusa and the crowd. “Your Sakusa sure looks up to Wakatoshi, doesn't he?”

“Of course. Ushijima is older and one of the top three aces in the country. Sakusa really admires him,” Komori agreed absently. “He was really disappointed that Shiratorizawa didn't make it to Nationals this time.” Tendou’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“You're still calling him Sakusa?” Tendou asked. “But Wakatoshi’s been calling him Kyoomi for over a year, and since you're the one dating him, I thought-”

“Isn't instinct your thing, Tendou? Not thinking?” Komori snapped, tearing his gaze away from Sakusa to glare at Tendou, who held his hands up defensively. Komori eyed him for a moment, then turned back to watching Sakusa and Ushijima, only to find that they weren't standing where Komori had last seen them. Where did they-

Oh.

Komori’s heart sank as he located his boyfriend and the wing spiker he immediately admitted he definitely hated. The two aces were sitting on a bench against the wall, and Sakusa was leaning over, his head tucked under Ushijima’s chin as he let his weight rest against Ushijima’s chest. Komori must have made some sound, or let his expression show something, because Tendou noticed something was wrong.

“Komori? What’s...oh,” Tendou breathed, following Komori’s gaze to the two aces.

“He doesn’t like to touch a lot of people,” Komori said quietly. Tendou hesitated, glanced at Komori’s expression and back toward Ushijima and Sakusa. When Tendou turned back to Komori, the libero was gone. Tendou frowned and scanned his surroundings, but couldn’t find any sign of Komori. Tendou hesitated, debating whether or not to go looking for him, eventually sighing and turning toward the aces. After all, Tendou might know Sakusa and Komori well enough to chat and tease, but he wasn’t about to interfere with whatever was going on that made Komori react so strongly. As he made his way toward Sakusa and Ushijima, noticing that they were still awfully close together, although Sakusa was sitting up and appeared to be talking to Ushijima, Tendou thought maybe he’d interfere a little.

“Hey, Sakusa!” Tendou called as he trotted up to them. “Where’s your libero?” Sakusa blinked at him, then turned and frowned at the space on the bench beside him as though surprised Komori wasn’t there. “Oh, come on. You didn’t expect him to stick around with you cuddling up to Wakatoshi, did you?” Tendou sighed dramatically. Sakusa’s eyebrows furrowed, and that was how Tendou knew he really didn’t know Sakusa well enough to really be doing this. Maybe it was that mask throwing him off, or maybe Sakusa was just odd and hard to predict - even for Tendou - but either way, Tendou couldn’t tell if it was worry, surprise, irritation, or something else making the second year ace all pouty like that. “Well, I saw him, but he looked pretty upset before he went off by himself and-”

“You just let him go off alone while he was upset?” Sakusa hissed, getting to his feet and leaning around Tendou - making sure not to touch him - to scan the crowd for Komori.

“Actually, I didn't; you did. I barely know Komori; you’re the one who didn’t even notice your new boyfriend was gone until I pointed it out, and all because you were too busy with Wakatoshi,” Tendou replied with a shrug. Sakusa was silent for a moment. He pulled out his cell phone and tapped at the screen before lifting it to his ear. A moment later, Sakusa’s eyes widened with hurt, and he put the phone away.

“It went to voicemail,” Sakusa mumbled, and Tendou realized he must've been calling Komori.

“Perhaps his phone is simply turned off,” Ushijima suggested. Sakusa shook his head.

“It rang once first. He just didn't want to answer,” Sakusa whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I decided this would be three chapters instead of two so here's the middle part. I promise the happy ending is coming next chapter okay?  
> to my pocket-sized Oikawa, thank you for letting me ramble dialogue and word choice to you.  
> to my partner in crime, here have a roller coaster, because this is your fault anyway.

Komori found a quiet corner of the stadium to collect himself. He needed to collect himself; he  _ knew _ Sakusa loved him, that Sakusa wouldn’t just abandon him, or betray him, or...at least, Komori thought he knew that. That’s what he told himself, especially when he was trying to fight back the awful churning in his gut that said he might be considered the number one libero, and he might be the one who usually helped Sakusa calm down and made him happy, but that didn’t mean he would always hold Sakusa’s attention. 

In fact...Sakusa’s interactions with Ushijima always showed Komori just how much he couldn’t keep Sakusa’s attention. As soon as Ushijima was mentioned, Sakusa was distracted. As soon as Ushijima was present, Sakusa didn’t talk to Komori much, if at all. Sakusa called Ushijima by his given name.

The churning feeling intensified, and Komori was torn between the urge to throw up and the need to punch something, because while he told himself all of that - Sakusa loved him, Sakusa wouldn’t leave him - Sakusa had never actually  _ said _ he either of those things; it was just Komori’s interpretation of Sakusa’s behavior. 

Komori told himself that his relationship with Sakusa was different than whatever Sakusa had with Ushijima, but he’d never had the courage to ask Sakusa about it, so Sakusa had never said if he was interested in Ushijima romantically. Komori was leaning more toward the throwing up idea, although collapsing into a pitiful little ball was also starting to look like a viable option as the thought of Sakusa maybe wanting to date Ushijima instead made the image of Sakusa leaning against Ushijima reappear in his mind’s eye. When Komori tried to shake the memory away, it only grew stronger. Actually, now that Komori was thinking about it...in the position Sakusa had been in, it would have been easy to tilt his head to nuzzle Ushijima’s neck, or lift his face just enough to kiss the older ace’s jaw if Sakusa pulled his mask out of the way first. 

Komori’s phone rang, yanking him out of his thoughts, and he pulled it out of his pocket out of habit. He almost answered the call, but remembered to glance at the caller ID before doing so. He hesitated with his finger over the answer button, staring at Sakusa’s name on the screen. Why was Sakusa calling him? Had something happened? Sakusa usually only called if he needed Komori to come get him, like if he’d been cornered by a crowd or something. But the last time Komori had seen Sakusa, the ace had been curled up against Ushijima, so-

Komori hit the button to deny the call. He stared at the phone for a few seconds, regretting his decision - what if Sakusa really  _ did  _ need him - who was he kidding, Sakusa didn’t really need him, he just needed someone to comfort him when he got overwhelmed, someone he could trust enough to be close to when he wanted to cuddle, and really, Ushijima checked all those boxes just as well as Komori did. 

Komori’s breath caught in his throat, becoming a half sob as he started to put his phone away. He didn’t know why Sakusa even wanted to date him. Komori didn’t think he was anything special, especially when compared to Sakusa. The only thing Komori had that was on Sakusa’s level was volleyball, and Ushijima was on their level too, so really, why would Sakusa ever choose Komori over Ushijima? Komori’s hands shook on the phone screen, which still showed Sakusa’s contact information from the missed call. Komori’s thumb brushed the text button, and an empty message popped up. Komori almost closed it out and turned his phone off, but he paused. 

Whether Komori was worthy of Sakusa or not, whether Sakusa would choose Komori over Ushijima or not, Komori still refused to abandon Sakusa. He refused to potentially leave him trapped or lost. So he typed out and sent that text message.

<< _ Everything okay? _

>> _ No, because you’re not here. _

The response was immediate, and Komori stared at the words on his screen for a long moment, afraid to breathe in case it shattered the illusion of Sakusa’s response, because there was no way Sakusa had actually said that, right? Or at least, he probably didn’t mean it the way it felt to Komori, like Sakusa couldn’t be okay without Komori beside him. 

<< _ Aren’t you still with Ushijima? You’re usually just fine with him even when I’m not around. _

Komori wondered if his response seemed too abrupt, too callous. He hadn’t thought as he typed, but the second he sent it, he wrealized that text might make it sound like he didn’t  _ want _ to be around Sakusa. But his boyfriend replied immediately, so Komori thought maybe he hadn’t messed up. 

>> _ Usually you tell me when you’re leaving instead of slipping off. _

Or not. Komori winced, bit his lip, and chose his words carefully as he responded. 

<< _ I didn’t mean to make you worry.  _

He should leave it there. He should. He knew it. He knew he should absolutely not send the rest of that thought, but his fingers betrayed him. 

<< _ I didn’t think you’d notice, since usually you don’t notice anything or anyone else when Ushijima is around. _

Komori stared in horror at the message, wondering if maybe this was an illusion after all, and none of this texting conversation had happened for real. Actually, he was hoping for that. His ringtone shattered that hope as Sakusa tried to call him again. Komori denied the call immediately. If Sakusa was angry, Komori didn’t feel up to fighting with him at the moment. If Sakusa was hurt by Komori’s words, he didn’t think he could take hearing the little waver in Sakusa’s voice that always showed up when he was upset. 

>> _ Komori Motoya answer your phone. _

Komori let a bitter laugh escape his lips, because of course  _ now _ Sakusa used his given name. 

>> _ Please. _

Komori blinked at the screen for a second. Sakusa didn’t usually say please like this. Usually, it didn’t even happen when he was asking to cuddle, not since they’d actually started dating. 

>> _ Komori I need you, please answer me.  _

Komori barely had time to finish reading the most recent message before his ringtone sounded again, Sakusa’s name once more appearing on the screen. Komori hesitated, debating. He still didn’t think he could handle hearing Sakusa’s voice right now, especially if he was still with Ushijima, because then if Ushijima talked, Komori would hear the rumble of his voice over the line, and Komori might scream if that happened. But Sakusa said he needed Komori, and on the off chance he wasn’t with Ushijima for some reason, and he needed Komori because Komori was the one who always came for him when he was lost or trapped by a crowd, then Komori couldn’t ignore the call. 

He answered. 

“Sakusa, if this is just you trying to get me to pick up-”

_ “Motoya,”  _ Sakusa breathed. Komori’s heart stopped. He was dead. The warring elation and panic inside him - elation because Sakusa had used his given name, and panic because his voice had the rough tone to it that usually meant Sakusa was scared, often because he was upset by a crowd or something - threatened to tear him apart.  _ “I was...I was trying to find you, and now I don’t know where I am.” _ Panic won, at least for the moment. 

“Take a deep breath, okay? You know what to do. Breathe with me. Okay?” Komori said, then inhaled deeply. He made his breath heavier, louder, making sure the cell phone would pick up the sound and carry it to Sakusa, so the ace could match Komori’s breathing. After a few minutes of this, Sakusa spoke again, his voice incredibly soft and unsure. 

_ “Thank you. Can you...can you come and find me? I know you’re upset - I don’t know why, but Tendou said-” _

“Tendou should mind his own business,” Komori muttered before he could stop himself. There was absolute silence from Sakusa for far too long. 

_ “Does that mean he was wrong and you’re not upset?” _ Sakusa’s question was hesitant, almost fearful. Komori was pretty sure that meant Sakusa knew it was wrong, knew Komori was upset, even if Sakusa probably didn’t actually know why. Komori also knew that approaching this wrong could make things worse. 

“Of course I’m not upset. Why would I be upset that the second I turn away, my boyfriend is halfway in someone else’s lap - a specific someone else who is probably my boyfriend’s favorite person - someone who basically renders me invisible just by being mentioned? Tell me, Kyoomi, whyever would that make me upset? Or am I still not allowed to call you that?” Komori hated himself the instant the words were out of his mouth, and the tiny, distressed whine that reached him from Sakusa’s end of the line made him regret ever answering the phone. He should have texted Sakusa through his panic, or hung up as soon as Tendou was mentioned. He shouldn’t have said any of that. Komori scrambled to change the subject - he couldn’t take those words back, but maybe he could make up for them somehow - and blurted out, “Just...tell me where you are. I’ll come find you. Okay? I’ll come find you and I’ll take you somewhere quiet so you can relax and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

_ “That would be wrong.”  _ Sakusa’s voice shook, and Komori’s heart broke. He never wanted to be the reason for Sakusa to sound like that. Never, not in a million years.  _ “I know I hurt you, and I’m...a little confused and upset because I don’t understand how or why but I want to understand. Otherwise, it’ll just happen again, and I don’t want that. Please, promise me when you find me that we’ll talk for real about this. Please.” _ Komori didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t. He wasn’t sure how, if he was being honest with himself. So after a few heartbeats, Komori settled on his default. 

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you want,” Komori agreed. “Just tell me where you are, okay?” There was a pause, Komori’s heart feeling like it might burst right out of his ribcage and his teeth digging into his lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood. 

_ “I didn’t get far from the bench,” _ Sakusa admitted.  _ “I think...I got just far enough to get lost in the crowd, and I can’t see Wakatoshi or Tendou.” _

“Stay where you are. I’m headed back there,” Komori assured him. 

_ “And then we’ll talk?” _ Hope made Sakusa’s voice a little stronger, and Komori felt his shoulders sag as he turned toward where he’d left his boyfriend cuddled up with someone else. 

“Yeah, Sakusa. Then we’ll talk.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so life kind of got in the way of me writing this chapter and I had writer's block for a bit, but I finally finished it!

When Sakusa saw Komori making his way through the crowd toward him, the tension dropped out of the ace’s shoulders, and he hurried to meet Komori. Before Komori could say anything, Sakusa’s arms were around him, crushing Komori against the taller boy’s chest. Komori knew the impending discussion of why he was upset was coming, but for the moment, he just let Sakusa cling to him, let his boyfriend’s warmth ease the churning in his stomach and the ache in his heart. 

“Feeling better?” Komori asked when Sakusa’s grip loosened slightly. Sakusa nodded, then pulled back and studied him. 

“You promised,” Sakusa reminded him. Komori sighed; he  _ really _ didn’t want to have this discussion. But he had promised, so…

“Yeah. Let’s find somewhere quiet, though, okay?” 

They ended up in a hallway toward the back of the stadium, away from the crowds and the other players. 

“Komori,” Sakusa said when Komori didn’t speak right away. The libero leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, trying to decide how to explain without making it sound like an accusation - he’d done enough speaking without thinking, and he didn’t want to hurt Sakusa just because Komori was insecure and jealous and-

There was a gentle pressure on his bottom lip, tugging it from between his teeth. Komori blinked; he hadn’t even realized he’d been chewing on his lip. He tilted his head slightly, looked up at Sakusa, who was watching him in silence, his brow furrowed with worry. 

“Talk to me,” Sakusa pleaded, leaning forward and placing his hands against the wall on either side of Komori’s head. “I don’t know what I did that hurt you, but I can’t stop doing it unless you tell me.” Komori closed his eyes, unable to bear the distress in Sakusa’s gaze as he tried to figure out what to say. “You’re thinking too much,” Sakusa accused. “Just  _ talk _ to me, please...Motoya.” 

Komori’s whole body trembled at the way Sakusa’s voice went soft as his lips wrapped around the syllables of Komori’s name. Komori leaned forward until his forehead landed on Sakusa’s collarbone. 

“Why can’t you just call me that all the time?” Komori whispered before he could really process what he was saying. 

“What?” Sakusa started to pull back, but Komori gripped his shirt and held him in place. This, with his expression hidden from Sakusa, and an excuse not to see the pain in Sakusa’s eyes, was better. Komori felt like he could actually think like this. 

“Why don’t you call me Motoya?” Komori repeated. There was a brief pause, and then he added, “You call Ushijima Wakatoshi, and you haven’t even known him as long as you’ve known me. Plus you and I are dating, so...why do you call him by his given name, but you don’t use mine?” Komori expected silence, or for Sakusa to pull away. He got both. But when he risked a glance up, he didn’t see confusion or frustration or anything in Sakusa’s eyes like he expected. Instead, Sakusa’s gaze was fixed on some point off to the side, and his cheekbones above his mask were tinted pink. Sakusa was  _ blushing, _ and Komori wasn’t really sure why. 

“Ah, that’s… With Wakatoshi, lots of people call him that. It’s like...if you’re his friend, you can call him that. He told me I could. But you…” Sakusa trailed off, mumbling into his mask so Komori couldn’t tell what he said. “It feels...different. More special, more intimate. And you never brought it up, so I didn’t want to just assume it was okay.” Sakusa tilted his head, trying to understand how this connected to Komori being upset. A moment later, Sakusa’s eyes widened. “Wait...are you jealous? Of Wakatoshi? Why? Just because of the name thing?”

“Of course it’s not just that,” Komori snapped. “Whenever he’s mentioned, you get distracted. If he shows up, you forget I exist. What am I supposed to feel when you didn’t even notice I was gone, and just cuddled up to him instead?”

“Komori...you know that I wouldn’t...you know I…” Sakusa seemed at a loss for words, maybe because of his surprise, or maybe he just had trouble saying the words. 

“That you wouldn’t leave me? That you love me?” Komori guessed. When Sakusa nodded, Komori let out a bitter laugh that made Sakusa flinch. “I keep telling myself that, but you never say it, so even though I know that, I don’t  _ know _ that. It’s stupid, but-”

“It’s not stupid,” Sakusa interrupted. “I admire Wakatoshi, and I trust him and enjoy being around him. But he’s not you. I don’t love him, and I know I can’t make you suddenly not jealous or hurt just by saying that, and I can’t just stop being friends with people because-”

“I know,” Komori assured him. “That’s not what I was trying to get you to do. I’d never ask you to. I just want…” He didn’t know  _ what _ he just wanted. He fell silent, chewing on his lip again. This time, it was a gentle kiss to his forehead that made him pause and look back at Sakusa. 

“I know you wouldn’t. And I won’t tell you not to be jealous or anything,” Sakusa replied. “But I can do better. I’ll be more aware of what I’m doing, especially around Wakatoshi. But you have to talk to me, okay? You have to tell me when I’ve upset you, or we can’t work through it.” Komori nodded quietly, and Sakusa studied him, watching for any sign of lingering hurt. Komori smiled at him and reached up to pull Sakusa’s mask down, then slid his hands back, into Sakusa’s hair, and tugged the ace down for a kiss.

* * *

 

“They’ve been gone for a while,” Tendou hummed for the sixth time, glancing in the direction Sakusa had gone. 

“I am sure they are fine. Whatever you meant when you said Kyoomi had upset Komori, I am sure they will work through it together,” Ushijima replied, also for the sixth time. 

“But-”

“Do not go after them,” Ushijima sighed, frowning. Tendou groaned dramatically and flopped against Ushijima’s side. 

“But Tooooshiiiii,” Tendou whined. 

“Haven’t you interfered enough today, Tendou?” Komori asked, his voice coming from behing the redheaded middle blocker. Tendou yelped and jumped, losing his footing and nearly falling as he whirled to face Komori and found the libero nestled against Sakusa’s side as the ace nodded in greeting and tightened his arm around Komori’s waist. 

“It looks like you two have sorted things out, so it seems like I interfered just the right amount,” Tendou huffed. Sakusa shook his head and shifted so he stood behind Komori instead of beside him, then rested his chin on top of Komori’s head. 

“Is Satori correct, though? Did you two work everything out?” Ushijima questioned, watching the two of them. 

“Yeah, we’re good,” Komori answered, wiggling a little to settle more comfortably against Sakusa’s chest.

“We should probably find the rest of the team, though,” Sakusa mused. 

“Yeah. My phone’s been buzzing for the last couple minutes. It’s probably the captain,” Komori agreed. “It was nice to see you two again,” he added. The words didn’t even feel like a lie this time. Well, not as much as usual, anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys should come yell with me about KomoSaku, or Komori or Sakusa individually. And if you have any suggestions for other KomoSaku stuff I can add to this series, just let me know! If I get inspired by a suggestion or comment, I'll write it and post it!


End file.
